Steven A. Blum
Partner
blum@blumcollins.com
(213) 572-0411
EDUCATION
Yale Law School, J.D.
University of California, Los Angeles
PRIOR EXPERIENCE
Irell & Manella
Heller Ehrman
Berger & Norton
BAR ADMISSIONS
California
PROFILE
Steve Blum was born in the Bay Area. He graduated from UCLA with a history degree (summa cum laude) in 1984 and Yale Law School in 1987. He started his career as a real estate and business transactions lawyer working for Werner Wolfen at one of California’s top law firms, Irell & Manella. Then he became a real estate and business litigator at the San Francisco and Los Angeles offices of Heller Ehrman under the tutelage of Ray Fisher, now a judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Steve then spent several years at Berger & Norton, which was California’s pre-eminent law firm in the area of real estate litigation, especially eminent domain and inverse condemnation. That’s where he learned from Richard Norton and Michael Berger how to take large earth movement cases to trial and appeal against government agencies. Steve was appointed adjunct law professor teaching the Eminent Domain course at Loyola Law School. Around the time Berger & Norton dissolved in the early 2000s, Steve co-founded Blum Collins LLP and has conducted many successful trials and appeals of major real estate and business cases. He was the Co-Chair of LSI's 2016 national program on the Science and Law of Proving Landslide Claims.
Representative Matters
Landslide & Subsidence
Los Angeles Cases
Budwig v. City of Los Angeles. An inverse condemnation landslide case against the City of Los Angeles. Full recovery for the client.
Culotti v. City of Los Angeles. Inverse condemnation case in which City roads flooded the client’s storied 1920s Pacific Palisades mansion.
Case ID Confidential. There was a large landslide on the Katy Perry estate in the Hollywood Hills. We sued the upslope neighbor and insurers agreed to pay for a complete slope repair.
Client Confidential v. City of Los Angeles. An inverse condemnation case in which we compelled the City to admit its liability for continuous sewage back-ups damaging the clients' Pacific Palisades home.
Ekstein v. City of Los Angeles. Large settlement to repair a Pacific Palisades home damaged by a damaged City Sewer system.
Haywood v. City of Los Angeles. An inverse condemnation landslide case in the Hollywood Hills with full recovery in settlement.
Finkbeiner v. City of Diamond Bar, et al. A catastrophic landslide involving five homes that were red-tagged in the City of Diamond Bar. We sued the City of Diamond Bar for inverse condemnation and reached a favorable settlement more than sufficient to repair all the properties and pay attorneys and experts fees.
Hubie Brooks and Nedjiin Brooks v. City of Calabasas, et al. A landslide case involving loss of a home in Calabasas. The case settled for a total of approximately $8 million from the HOA, insurers, neighbors, the City of Calabasas, the Las Virgines Water District and the County of Los Angeles.
Johnson v. Global Contruction, et al. Lawsuit against various contractors for land subsidence at the client's Manhattan Beach home. Full recovery.
Playa Del Rey Litigation. Represented 11 upslope homeowners in Playa Del Rey to recover more than $14 million for the repair of a sandy slope.
Keenan v. Peter Thiel. Landslide case in Hollywood Hills for our client, a lawyer, who sued the upslope neighbor after multiple tons of earth destroyed his home.
Karimi v. County of Los Angeles. Expansion of the 405 Freeway in Westwood damaged a home. We compelled the County and Caltrans to buy the home at its undamaged fair market value plus pay attorneys’ fees and more.
Kin v. City of Los Angeles Dept of Water and Power. Land subsidence case for a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge whose home was damaged by a broken water main.
Katherine Helmond and David Christian v. Ezra Cohen. A lawsuit involving a landslide and collapsed rock wall structure in the Hollywood Hills, resulting property destruction, land surveying disputes, and slander of title claims. Trial resulting in total victory for my clients on land ownership issues plus recovery of $1.2 million.
Meade v. Surfside, et al. Lawsuit against various contractors for land subsidence in sandy soils at the client's Manhattan Beach home. Full recovery.
Manulife Insurance Co. v. City of Los Angeles, et al. A $12 million land subsidence case against the State of California, City of Los Angeles, and County of Los Angeles. Part of the case settled and part of it went to trial.
Myreon Hodur and Jennifer Hodur v. City of Culver City, et al. Represented the Hodurs, both attorneys, in an inverse condemnation landslide case affecting five homes. The case was brought against the City of Culver City following the destruction of the Hodurs’ home. As a result of the litigation, the City agreed to buy the clients’ destroyed home for its undamaged full market value and pay attorneys and experts fees.
Mitzi Kapture and Bradley Kapture v. Lancer, et al. An Encino landslide case on Estrando Drive, involving five neighboring homeowners, resulting in a $4 million hillside repair paid by insurers.
Matthew Kaplan and Penni Zier v. City of Los Angeles. An inverse condemnation landslide case against the City of Los Angeles. The City agreed to buy the clients’ home and pay their attorneys fees and experts fees.
Mr. and Mrs. Larry Bridges v. City of Los Angeles, et al. A landslide case against the City of Los Angeles, settled for $16,300,000, California's largest landslide award for a single family home.
Phil Spector and Rachelle Spector v. City of Alhambra. An inverse condemnation case for the Spectors following a landslide affecting a large estate property. The City repaired the landslide and paid the Spectors' attorneys fees and expert fees.
Nazarian v. City of Los Angeles. City streets funneled storm water towards the clients' Westwood home causing land subsidence. We sued the City and the clients received funds to build a new home and pay the attorneys and experts.
Posner v. City of Los Angeles. An inverse condemnation landslide case. A City fire hydrant burst and washed away the clients’ backyard on a Tujunga slope. The City paid for a full repair plus attorneys and experts fees.
Randa Haines v. Brad Silberling. A landslide destroyed the client’s Studio City home. Client recovered all losses from her insurance company and a tenant.
Rubalcava v. Budimer. Lawsuit between neighbors to fix a slope failure in the City of Burbank.
Paul Haggis v. City of Los Angeles. An inverse condemnation subsidence and landslide case against the City of Los Angeles. The Haggis home was completely destroyed by earth movement. This case was eventually appealed to the California Supreme Court.
Torino v. City of Palos Verdes Estates, et al. An inverse condemnation landslide case against the City of Palos Verdes Estates and Southern California Edison. After a 5 week bench trial, damages were awarded in favor of my client exceeding $5 million.
St. Johns Medical Plaza v. Lincoln Electric, et al. A lawsuit for the doctors who owned the St. Johns Medical Plaza, in Santa Monica, in their full-value $11 million recovery against contractors after earthquake damage to the steel moment frame office tower.
Thay Lee and Mr. & Mrs. Tom Bistline v. City of Dana Point. Represented two neighbors, in an inverse condemnation landslide case that went to trial against the City of Dana Point with a judgment in my clients’ favor that required the City to rebuild the clients’ slope.
11978 Mayfield Condos v. SHZ Development. Represented a Westside homeowners association in a construction defect case with a full recovery against the developer.
Smith v. City of Los Angeles. Recovered more than $5 million to repair a landslide in Laurel Canyon.
Bay Area Cases
Ashmeade v. City of Sausalito and Caltrans. A rainstorm and some leaky pipes damaged the client’s Sausalito duplex in 2019. We got a $3.5 million settlement that fully compensated the client, a prominent San Francisco attorney.
Barillo v. To. Landslide in Daly City involving two next door neighbors. We recovered policy limits from insurance companies to completely rebuild and repair a large landslide.
Case I.D. Confidential. We recovered $5.5 million for a major retailer whose store sank into a San Mateo parking lot.
Julian Milenbach. A construction defect case involving his El Cerritos home. Full recovery for the client.
Pleasanton Landslide. Inverse condemnation landslide case involving six large luxury homes that were severely damaged in a landslide caused by erosion in a nearby arroyo owned by a public water agency.
Silla v. Caltrans. Caltrans cut into a hill in the 1950s to create Hwy 101 in South San Francisco. In the 2010s a landslide destroyed the client’s home upslope of that road cut. We convinced Caltrans to buy the client’s home for its undamaged fair market value plus pay the attorneys’ fees, experts fees, and more.
Inland Empire Cases
Castillo, et al. v. Ahmadi, et al. Represented six families in Corona, Riverside County, whose six separate properties were damaged by a catastrophic landslide caused by the downslope landowners’ negligent maintenance of their concrete gravity walls. Insurers paid for a complete repair.
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California v. Domengoni Family. Two 6-week trials for the Domenigoni Family of Riverside County against the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) in a complex eminent domain case that resulted in a jury verdict of $43,200,000 in our clients’ favor. This was one of California's largest eminent domain verdicts.
City of Fontana v. Sunrise Ford. Represented California's second largest Ford dealership in an eminent domain case arising out of a widening of the 10 Freeway in San Bernardino County.
Jimenez v. Confidential Insurance Co. Lawsuit against the clients' insurer to obtain first-party coverage to replace the client's home lost in a San Bernadino landslide.
Raceway Ford v. State of California (CalTrans). Represented a large Ford dealership in an inverse condemnation case against CalTrans arising out of the State’s failure to comply with its own construction plans for the 60-91-215 Freeway Project in Riverside County.
San Diego Area Cases
Eriksson v. Dinh. Landslide involving uphill and downhill neighbors in San Diego. Full recovery and repair obtained from insurance companies.
Mooney v. Fore. Landslide involving uphill and downhill neighbors in San Diego. Full recovery and repair obtained from insurance companies.
Moore v. Hillside Patio Homes HOA. Landslide involving four homes and the homeowners association. Full repair recovered in litigation.
Nelson v. Smith. Landslide involving next door neighbors in San Diego. Full recovery and repair obtained from insurance companies.
Orr v. Ruf. Full recovery for homeowners who suffered a landslide on Arroyo Lindo Ave., in San Diego.
O’Sullivan v. Chan. Full repair for homeowners whose properties were damaged in a canyon landslide on Arroyo Lindo Ave., San Diego.
The La Mesa Litigation. We represented the uphill owners who sued eight downhill owners for causing a landslide in a residential area of La Mesa. We obtained a multi-million dollar settlement from the downhill owners to fully repair the slope.
BusinesS
SPPN Images, Inc. v. Halil-Shah, et al.
A complex business fraud case involving a large historical film library, including issues of corporate mismanagement and fraud. This case went through bankruptcy in the United Kingdom with a full recovery for my client. We obtained a $16 million judgment against the primary fraud defendant.
Cook v. Alicata
A case involving issues of corporate mismanagement and fraud.
Marcia Diamond v. Provident Mutual Ins. Co., et al.
Claims of fraud by an insurance company and its agents arising out of the sale of life insurance policies.
Schramm v. JP Morgan Chase Bank.
Lead counsel in Federal Court class action alleging the bank made misleading disclosures on adjustable rate mortgages throughout California.
EMPLOYMENT
We have litigated a range of executive employment claims. Examples include a trial on behalf of 15 Fox Studio employees who sued for race discrimination and harassment; a sexual orientation discrimination claim for a Fox executive; the successful appeal of a $7 million employment case for an insurance executive; a $2.5 million judgment for a cannabis industry executive; the 100 percent defense of a female studio executive accused of sexual harassment; complete defense of a Singaporean comics producer facing claims from all employees; and a multi-million dollar settlement for a tech-media executive in Silicon Valley. We were also honored to be retained by staff attorneys (the “associates”) to obtain multi-million dollar settlements against three of the “AmLaw 100” law firms in the United States (the largest grossing business law firms).
Awards and Honors
The Dean Rusk Award from the American Society of International Law for the year’s best published article in the ILSA Law Journal (1987);
The Judge William Miller Prize from Yale Law School for the best paper in constitutional law;
Director, Yale Law School Moot Court of Appeals;
UCLA Distinguished Student Award (UCLA’s top scholarship award);
UCLA Alumni Association’s Senior of the Year Award; Phi Beta Kappa.
Presentations and Publications
"Public Executions: Understanding The 'Cruel and Unusual Punishments' Clause," 19 Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly 413, 1991"
Tax-Free Exchanges of Appreciated Art," 14 Columbia-VLA Journal of Law & The Arts 557, 1990.
"Intervention for the Purpose of Replacing Anarchy With a Sovereign Government: Trends Toward a Developing Norm," 11 ILSA International Law Journal 1, 1987 (Dean Rusk Award).
Professional Affiliations
Adjunct Professor of Law, Loyola University School of Law;
Member, Steering Committee, Bet Tzedek Legal Services;
General Counsel, Los Angeles Central City Enterprise Zone Business Advisory Council, 1992-1994.